“You mean, divinely for a woman who limps,” Samantha corrected him, dropping her gaze to his chest.
“Speak to me, not my chest.” When she looked up, Prince Rudolf told her, “l meant, you dance divinely.”
Samantha felt the heated blush staining her cheeks. “You dance divinely, too.”
That made him smile. “I thank you on behalf of the myriad dance masters who tutored me.”
Samantha smiled at that.
“You have a beautiful smile and should use it more often,” the prince told her.
“People who smile for no apparent reason are considered unbalanced, Your Highness,” she said.
“Unfortunately, that is true. Please, call me Rudolf.”
“Familiarity with someone of your stature would be improper,” Samantha said.
“I am a man as well as a prince,” he told her. “I want to call you Samantha and cannot do it unless you call me Rudolf.”
“Very well, Rudolf.”
“I like the sound of my name on your lips,” Prince Rudolf said, making her blush again.
The music ended, and Samantha turned to leave the dance floor with him. The prince held her arm in a firm but gentle grip and refused to budge.
“You will dance with me again.”
Her aunt had said no more than twice with any gentleman but hadn’t specified if the dances could be back to back. “Is that proper?”
“Royalty must be humored.”
Samantha inclined her head and stepped into his arms for the next waltz. She glanced in her aunt’s direction and saw the older woman nodding at her.
Circling the ballroom in the prince’s arms felt like a dream. Samantha couldn’t help thinking that her fear of dancing had been foolish.
“Speaking while waltzing is customary, Samantha.”
“I’m sorry, Rudolf.”
“What were you thinking?”
“I was thinking you speak perfect English,” she hedged.
“Your thoughts were not about my lack of an accent,” Prince Rudolf said. “However, I will admit my mother is English and tutored me herself.”
The music ended before she could reply, but again the prince refused to let her go. “I’m sorry, Rudolf,” Samantha said. “My aunt insisted that I should not dance more than twice with any gentleman.”
“Your aunt did not intend for you to offend a prince by refusing to dance with him,” Rudolf told her. “Dancing two times with the same man applies only to commoners.”
“I am the second daughter of an earl,” Samantha said. “That makes me a commoner.”
“I will compromise.” Rudolf placed his hand on the small of her back as he guided her off the dance floor. “You will accompany me to the refreshment room and share a glass of champagne with me.”
Samantha didn’t know what to do. Her aunt hadn’t given her instructions about drinking champagne with a prince. She supposed that left her free to do what she wanted.
“I would like that.” In truth, Samantha didn’t want to see the prince dancing with another woman.
Together, they left the ballroom. She refused to look in her aunt’s direction lest she see disapproval stamped across the woman’s features.
“Strange, I don’t remember the ballroom, only the foyer and my mother’s fragrance,” Samantha said without thinking.
The prince gave her a curious look. “I do not understand.”
“I lived in this house until I was seven years old,” she told him.
“Your parents sold the house to Emerson?” Rudolf asked.
“The villain stole it from my father,” Samantha said, a bitter edge to her voice. In the next instant, she realized she had said too much.
The prince had stopped walking and turned to stare at her. Surprise had etched itself across his features.
“I should not have said what I did.” Samantha touched his arm. “Please, do not repeat it to anyone.”
“I would never betray a trust,” the prince assured her. “Under the circumstances, I cannot understand your parents accepting Emerson’s invitation.’
“My parents are deceased,” Samantha told him. “The gentleman you saw is the Duke of Inverary, and the lady is my Aunt Roxie.”
“The Duke of Inverary?” the prince echoed, his dark eyes gleaming with interest “I must hear this story.”
“Another time, perhaps,” she said, glancing around. “I wouldn’t wish to be overheard.”
Prince Rudolf led her to the stairs instead of the refreshment room. “We will postpone our champagne to walk in the garden while you relate this story to me.”
Samantha halted at the top of the stairs. “Is that proper?”
“You are safe with me,” the prince assured her. “I would never compromise your reputation.”
Samantha relaxed but began to have doubts as they followed several couples downstairs and headed for a stroll in the garden. She felt certain her aunt would not approve, but when she looked at the prince, she was unable to turn back and let him go. If she was going to live a lonely, miserable existence, she might as well have one evening to remember.
Rudolf and Samantha stepped into a summer’s night created for romance. Fog clung to the ground like a lover, but the sky overhead was clear, a full moon shining down on them. Torches had been lit, providing light for the couples who strolled around the garden. Mingling flower fragrances wafted through the air.
Rudolf took her hand in his and led her across the garden toward a silver birch tree. “Tell me about the Duke of Inverary.”
Heedless of her gown, Samantha leaned back against the birch tree. The solidness of its trunk comforted her.
“His Grace, an old friend of my father’s, opened his home to us and insisted on sponsoring my sisters and me,” Samantha told him.
“How generous of him.”
“Your Highness, you have been waltzing with a pauper,” Samantha whispered, merriment shining from her blue eyes and a smile on her lips. “I have nothing to recommend me.”
The prince stepped closer and, with one finger lifted her chin. “You have a great deal to recommend you,” he said, his voice seductively low.
Samantha stared into his eyes, mesmerized by their dark intensity. His handsome face inched closer. The scent of sandalwood, so arrogantly masculine, assailed her senses and made thinking impossible. His face hovered above hers for one brief, tantalizing moment. And then their lips touched.
Samantha surrendered to this new sensation. Standing within the circle of his arms and pressing her lips to his felt as natural as breathing. And then it was over.
“You are as delicate as a Bulgarian rose and more mysterious than Asian jasmine,” Rudolf whispered, his lips hovering above hers.
Dazed by his kiss, Samantha stared at him through enormous blue eyes but remained silent. Rudolf traced a finger down her cheek. “Thank you for the gift of your first kiss.”
That jerked her into awareness. How did he know she’d never kissed a man? Was her inexperience so obvious?
“How did you know?” she managed to ask.
Prince Rudolf placed the palm of his hand against her cheek. “Your skin burns with embarrassment, surely a sign of a first kiss.”
Samantha smiled with relief. Apparently, she hadn’t done anything incorrectly. “Tell me something more about yourself,” she said, looking at him from beneath the thick fringe of her sooty lashes.
“What do you want to know?”
“Tell me about Russia.”
“My homeland is cold.”
“You told me your mother is English,” Samantha said. ‘What about the others in your family?”
“They are Russians.”
Samantha realized he was teasing her. She cast him an unconsciously flirtatious smile. “How do princes really pass their days?”
“We issue commands to inferiors,” Rudolf told her, a smile on his lips, “while we are wearing our crowns.”
“Wearing the crown is necessary to issue comma
nds?” Samantha asked, tilting her head back to look into his dark eyes.
“A prince should never be far from his crown,” he said, a smile flirting with his chiseled lips.
“Sometimes we princes rescue maidens like you from dragons.”
“Is that what you are doing tonight?” Samantha asked, growing serious. “I mean, rescuing me from society’s dragons?”
“Do you need rescuing, my lady?” Prince Rudolf stared into her eyes.
Samantha tore her gaze from his, feeling as if he could see into her soul and knew her deepest secrets, fears, and insecurities. Only family knew of her pain. She had too much Douglas pride to let anyone else, especially this man, see her pain.
“How do English ladies pass their days?” the prince asked, changing the subject when she remained silent.
I picked pockets until two weeks ago. Samantha looked at the prince and said, “I play the violin.”
“Will you play for me sometime?”
“I would be honored.”
“How about that glass of champagne, my Bulgarian rose?” Rudolf asked.
“I would like that very much.”
With her hand in his, Samantha walked toward the mansion. At the door, they met Angelica and the marquess on their way into the garden. Her sister appeared none too happy and cast her a look that said Aunt Roxie was displeased with her behavior.
Samantha cared not a whit. Her future loomed long and bleak in front of her. She knew the prince could never be interested in her, but he had given her an evening to remember. Perhaps more suitable gentlemen would follow the prince’s lead and become acquainted with her instead of dismissing her because of her flaw.
“Rudolf, I need to ask you a question,” Samantha said, pausing in the foyer. When he inclined his head, she dropped her gaze to his chest. “Why did you single me out tonight?”
“I love the way you look at my chest,” he said in a husky voice.
Samantha lifted her gaze to his face. He was laughing at her.
“You are a desirable woman,” Rudolf told her. “Why should I not be attracted to you?”
His answer surprised her. “But I—”
A gunshot boomed from outside the mansion. Sounds of alarm reached them.
“Stay here,” the prince ordered, heading for the door.
“I’m coming, too.” Samantha followed him outside.
They started down the street where a crowd had gathered. In the distance, Samantha saw her sister and the marquess.
“Oh,” she cried when an enormous man, dressed in black, stepped from the shadows and blocked their path.
“Good evening, Your Highness.”
“Good evening, Igor,” Rudolf said. “How is Vladimir?”
“Return Venus to her rightful owner or suffer the consequences.” With those words, the man disappeared into the night.
“What was that about?” Samantha asked.
Ignoring her question, Rudolf lifted her hands to his lips, saying, “I must take my leave now. May I call upon you?”
Her smile lit the night, and hope swelled within her breast. “Yes, Rudolf, you may.”
The prince gifted her with a devastating smile and then retraced his steps down the street. Samantha watched him disappear inside one of the coaches.
He never called upon her.
Chapter 1
Winter, 1813
“Alexander Emerson is so boring,” Victoria said. “I don’t understand why Samantha wants to marry him.”
“That’s a terrible thing to say,” Angelica scolded her youngest sister.
Samantha stood at the window of her second-floor bedchamber at the Duke of Inverary’s country estate. She stared at the curving brick drive and the courtyard’s three water terraces.
Tonight was a special night. Not only would her family celebrate the New Year but would also announce her betrothal to Alexander Emerson. Why didn’t she feel happy?
You don’t love him.
Samantha silenced that disturbing inner voice and sent it back to the suburbs of her mind. Turning away from the window, she said, “I want to marry Alexander Emerson because he is boring.”
She had passed a soul-searching week alone at the old cottage, trying to decide what to do. Her decision had been relatively easy, though, because a woman who limped wasn’t exactly the height of fashion.
“You should have gone to Sweetheart Manor instead of the cottage,” Angelica said, as if she sensed her doubts. “Robert spent a fortune restoring and renovating it, complete with staff, awaiting a visit from the Countess of Melrose and her husband.”
Samantha looked at her older sister knitting a bunting for the babe she expected in four months. “The cottage at Primrose Hill is closer than Scotland.”
“A complete change of scenery would have been good for you.”
“You may have arrived at a different decision,” Victoria said. “You don’t love Alexander.”
Her sister’s remark surprised Samantha. Was it that obvious?
“Father and Mother would never have expected you to marry a man you don’t love just so their bodies can rest on Douglas land,” Victoria added.
“Out of the mouths of babes comes wisdom,” Angelica said.
“Almost seventeen is not a child,” Victoria informed her sisters. She looked at Samantha. “Too bad Prince Rudolf never called upon you.”
Samantha kept her face expressionless, but her stomach knotted at the sound of his name. “Tory, you cannot have believed that a man of his esteem would call upon me.”
“You don’t need to marry a man you don’t love because you fear no other man will ask you,” Angelica told her.
Samantha lifted her chin a notch. “I fear nothing, especially spinsterhood.”
“Hello, my darlings,” called a voice from the doorway.
The three sisters watched their aunt cross the bedchamber. Aunt Roxie sat on the settee in front of the hearth. “Is everyone excited about tonight?”
“I can hardly wait for the midnight fireworks,” Victoria said. “His Grace certainly knows how to celebrate New Year’s.”
“Yes, he certainly knows how to celebrate,” Aunt Roxie drawled in a suggestive tone.
Samantha and Angelica exchanged smiles. Their wonderful aunt had recently made the duke her fourth husband, and the two seemed to spend a lot of time closeted within their bedchamber.
“Be careful,” Angelica teased, “or you’ll find your belly as big as mine.”
Aunt Roxie laughed. “Swallow your tongue, child.”
“You look young enough to become a mother,” Samantha said.
“Bless you, darling.” Aunt Roxie reached into her pocket and produced a necklace, a ruby pendant hanging on a gold chain. “I’ve brought you a gift.”
Samantha let her aunt place the necklace over her head and then looked down at the ruby. “Thank you, but what did I do to deserve this?”
“Darling, you deserve to be drenched in jewels for being your wonderful self,” Aunt Roxie said smoothly. She gazed into her niece’s blue eyes and told her, “This necklace possesses powerful magic.”
Samantha managed to keep her expression serious and the laughter out of her voice. “What kind of magic?”
“Legend says the star ruby will darken to the color of blood if its owner is threatened,” Aunt Roxie said.
“I will keep a guarded eye on it,” Samantha promised, a smile flirting with the corners of her lips.
“Remember, child,” Aunt Roxie said, putting her arm around her, “life doesn’t always turn out as planned.”
“Did you have another vision?” Victoria asked. “Can you tell me which gentleman will invite me to supper?”
“Tory, you are beginning to give me a headache.” Samantha said, rising from her chair.
“I need some fresh air.” She donned her hooded, fur-lined cloak over her blue dress and grabbed her special violin case with the wide leather strap that hung over her shoulder.
“Darling,
have a wonderful time,” Aunt Roxie called. “Remember, your ruby will warn you if danger threatens.”
Samantha paused at the door. Her aunt sounded as if she was going on a trip instead of the gazebo to play her violin.
“I won’t forget.” Armed with her violin, Samantha walked down the corridor to the curving staircase. She paused when she reached the foyer and looked at the duke’s statuary of the Three Fates.
What did the Fates have planned? Whenever her aunt behaved mysteriously, something unexpected happened, and the unexpected was always a turn for the worse.
A crisp afternoon greeted Samantha. The sun warmed her face as she crossed the expanse of snow-dusted lawn nearest the mansion.
Samantha opened the iron gate that separated the lawn from the garden. The fine hairs on her nape prickled. Feeling like she was being watched, she paused and glanced around the area. Nothing seemed amiss.
Flicking her cloak open, Samantha looked at the placid star ruby. She shook off the uncomfortable feeling and continued on her way past the maze and across another, larger expanse of lawn.
The gazebo stood beyond the lawns at the edge of the woodland. Samantha sighed and seated herself inside. Scented with woodsmoke from the fireplaces within the mansion, the afternoon was a gem of blue sky and sunshine.
Why didn’t she feel happy and lighthearted? Alexander Emerson was intelligent and kind and possessed blond good looks. He was excellent husband material, and she intended to be the best wife ever.
The image of the Russian prince stepped from the shadows of her mind. Her heart ached for what could never be. Why had he asked to call upon her? If he’d said nothing, she would never have expected to see him again. Instead, she had waited weeks for a visit that never materialized.
Samantha told herself she should be grateful for that one enchanted evening. Many women never had that much. Opening her instrument case, Samantha lifted her violin and bow. Then she began to play a haunting melody that mirrored her feeling of loneliness.
* * *
Two pairs of eyes watched Samantha crossing the grounds. Robert Campbell and Prince Rudolf stood at the window in the duke’s study and watched the petite, ebony-haired woman walking toward the gazebo.
To Charm a Prince Page 2
